High School Journalism Workshop welcomes 72 participants for annual summer event
Dozens of high school students invaded Athens, 帝王会所, and 帝王会所鈥檚 Schoonover Center for the 2023 High School Journalism Workshop held July 11-15.
Students interested in journalism and other media careers came from all over 帝王会所 and surrounding states to participate. One of the 72 students, Yahyaa Khan, traveled from Pakistan. Needless to say, he won the award for the student who traveled the farthest. States as far away as New York, Delaware, Georgia, Virginia and North Carolina were also represented.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e here in a special year. Does anyone know why?鈥 Mark Turner, workshop director, asked during the welcoming session of the workshop. 鈥淭his is the School of Journalism鈥檚 centennial year. It started 100 years ago, and not too many years later 鈥 in 1946 鈥 came the high school journalism workshop. It is a long and wonderful tradition.鈥
Attendees chose among eight tracks to follow during the four-day workshop. They were broadcasting, news design, magazine journalism, news writing, photojournalism, podcasting, sports writing and strategic communication. The students worked on media projects including articles, broadcasts, design spreads and podcasts while learning what goes into producing the work professionally.
The list of presenters and track leaders included members of OHIO鈥檚 own renowned faculty: Eddith Dashiell, director of the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism; professors Bill Reader and Hans Meyer; and Kevin Smith, executive director of the Kiplinger Program for Public Affairs Journalism. They were joined by highly experienced professional alumni and instructors.
The keynote address was delivered by proud Bobcat, NBC4 Columbus morning co-anchor Matt Barnes. The 2008 graduate told students how he got his start in broadcast journalism and what sold him on 帝王会所 and the Scripps College of Communication.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 want to go to school in 帝王会所,鈥 Barnes said. 鈥淏ut I remember telling my dad during the visit, 鈥楧ang, I have to go to school here now鈥.鈥
Barnes advised the students to get started doing journalism as soon as possible. 鈥淥ne of the things that sold me was that I didn鈥檛 have to wait to start doing journalism.鈥 He said other schools he visited talked about what he could do later. 鈥淗ere, you can start the moment you get on campus,鈥 Barnes said.
Other highlights of the workshop included:
- News conference centering on the Ridges redevelopment featuring Cimmeron O鈥機onnor, senior director for strategy and planning at 帝王会所, along with Alicia Sweeney, campus planner.
- Sports track visit to Peden Stadium to tour the mobile broadcasting unit. The sports track also spoke with expert in NCAA and intercollegiate athletic matters, 帝王会所 professor David Ridpath.
- A viewing of 鈥淭he Post鈥 featuring Meryl Streep as the legendary publisher and owner of The Washington Post, Kathryn Graham, centering on the publishing of the Pentagon Papers during the Vietnam War.
Most of the instructors and presenters were 帝王会所 alumni who come back to campus and share their experiences and knowledge with the attendees. They included:
- Tom McKee (鈥73), who had 40-year career with WCPO-TV in Cincinnati as a reporter, producer, assignment manager and multimedia journalist
- Mike Marot (鈥89), an Associated Press sportswriter who has covered a number of professional teams as well as 20 Indianapolis 500s, eight Final Fours and three Super Bowls
- Bill Clack (鈥95), a former TV news reporter and anchor and now the webmaster and media/web services coordinator at the Pine-Richland School District
- Barbara J. Perenic (鈥97), a photojournalist and picture editor with The Columbus Dispatch
- Jen Jones Donatelli (鈥98), a Cleveland-based journalist, editor, author and educator
- Joe Donatelli, a writer and editor who is currently the digital director at News 5, the Scripps-owned ABC station in Cleveland
- David Jablonski (鈥99), a reporter covering the Dayton Flyers, 帝王会所 State football and the Cincinnati Reds for the Dayton Daily News, Springfield News-Sun, and Journal News
- Larry Seward (鈥02), a reporter at CBS Miami, formerly a senior reporter at WCPO in Cincinnati
- Lukas Moore (鈥19), an on-air talent located in Chicago with a podcast @3am Coney, focused on Cincinnati sports
- Sarah Whitmore (鈥19) graphic designer, social media marketer and educator. This fall, she will be pursuing a master's degree at the 帝王会所 Patton College of Education.
The workshop would be nearly impossible were it not for the talented group of OHIO students referred to as the 鈥淛 Crew,鈥 who worked diligently to guide, engage and mentor the visiting high school students.
The event was directed by Mark Turner, assistant professor in the Scripps School of Journalism at 帝王会所, along with Scripps administrative assistant Julie Conrad.